Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Pagan Holy Days

This evening we are celebrating Samhain (Hallowe'en) in the traditional way. We are gathering in circle to celebrate the crossing of the Veil. This is a time that we honor those who have crossed over to the other side of the Veil, as well as celebrate those who are reincarnating back to this side of the Veil. We will also be blessing personal talismans for the coming year.

Samhain is the ancient Pagan New Year. It was traditionally celebrated during the Full Moon of October (the "Blood Moon"), which honored the life force energies. Blood is our life force in our physical bodies, so it became known as the "Blood Moon". It is a time of celebrating the cycles of life, death, and rebirth.

This evening's circle promises to be a large gathering. I feel very honored to be able to lead such an important ceremony for the people.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Inner Vision

People often ask me, because I have the ability to "see" things, how they can develop this type of inner vision. One must first understand that there are some who are born with this gift. Even so, if one doesn't do their work in developing an understanding of the gift and how to use it, then you won't be able to interpret what it is you see. For example, I can see the aura energies and the chakra energies and the meridian energies and so on, but if I had not put YEARS of learning into this ability, I would have been useless in knowing what to do with what I was seeing. So for a person to expect in any way that just by opening up the "third eye" they will have it cased is like telling anyone who can hold a scalpel that they are now ready to perform surgery. Yes, when I said years, I meant it. Too often folks open up and begin to perceive and then place all of the interpretations of those perceptions into the old box of reality. This can create chaos, to say the least.

Meditation, and I mean lots of it, will help to open the third eye and then help you practice the perception of what is seen. The first type of meditation anyone should learn (yes, I just should upon many) is zazen meditation. This involves the "emptying" of the mind through breathing so that clarity of vision and perception can enter the visions.

Vision Questing is also important as it takes one out of the familiar and into nature and tests one's endurance, thus busting up a lot of perception dogma. This makes us experience, instead of expect. When we expect anything, we create that expectation. When we allow ourselves to experience it, then we learn on a deeply intuitive and authentic level.

Energy healing techniques also serve well to help the overall adjustment of the inner vision and the rest of the energy system while the development of the third eye unfolds. This is gentle and gradual and does not usually have anything "erupt" from within in an unmanageable way. The purpose of the energy healing techniques is precisely to allow the unfolding to be gradual, not rushed or pushed.

I encourage folks to start not with one or the other of these three suggestions, but with all of them. When working in tandem with each other, the overall effect of these three different styles is quite remarkable.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Fire Ceremony

This week our drumming circle is having a Fire Ceremony. The element of fire is one that represents the Spirit aspect of our being. When we are in a balanced state, we are able to achieve clarity, illumination and enlightenment. Once this is achieved we are able to determine our paths based on our spiritual consciousness. One could use the analogy of the Spirit of the Law vs the Letter of the Law. When unconscious we only go by the letter, or by the "book" so to speak, while moving through our lives. When we become conscious (that is to say spiritually aware) we are able to move through our lives utilizing the Spirit of the Law. So we will sometimes not be able to do something even though logically it makes sense, because on an intuitive and authentic level it just won't fit into our level of awareness or consciousness.

In a fire ceremony, we are able to align ourselves more clearly with our Spiritual Path, or Path of Purpose. This may not be able at times to be clearly articulated, but it will be felt on a deep soul level. We will find ourselves resonating with what is true and right for us, regardless of what the masses of "ordinary" folks may think. This can be truly liberating! I hope that there will be a lot of people show up for this circle gathering, as it promises to be a powerful one. In any case, I know that the folks who do show up are the ones who are meant to be there, and it will all be perfect.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Drumming Circle

Most Tuesday evenings I hold a Drumming Circle in my sacred space, called Transformational Tuesday. This is an opportunity for folks to gather together and share in the circle, as well as to connect with each other and with the world at large through the beat of the drum.

The drum creates a vibrational flow that is extremely close to the vibration of the earth itself, as measured by scientists. This connection builds within us as the sound of the drum moves through our bodies, and then helps us to transcend into spirit consciousness.

I like to combine this with the occasional cauldron ceremony which helps the group set healing intent. Between the drums, the chants, the rattles and the flames from the cauldron, we are able to set up an excellent vibe that travels throughout the universe and back. Positive ripples are always good because, let's face it, the world sends out quite enough negative ones.

This week we are going to be increasing our connections to our Power Animals. I can hardly wait. Although we experience whichever Power Animal or Power Animals that come through, I am personally hoping to connect more deeply with my Wolf Medicine. My Wolf has always guided me straight and true, even when I have wanted to take a more twisty, turning path. She knows the paths very well and is able to get me back home safe and sound every time. I think I sometimes make it difficult for her with my agendas and expectations, but I am learning to let go of these and I am hoping that in circle she will hear my prayers of apologies for beings such a pain at times. I love her scent and the way her fur feels, so soft and so long. And I especially like the spooky look in her eyes. I think I may have inherited that from her, if that is possible.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Mystical Moments

Yesterday I was out in my yard in the early morning. As I came around the corner I found that the sunlight was breaking through just after sunrise and the warmth of the light was evaporating the frost that was on the grass. As it did so, there was the most wonderful mist rising all around our yard and house. I just had to take a moment and truly appreciate the mystical aspect of nature in action. I am so glad that I did, too, because a minute or two later the effect was all gone as the frost was burned off.

It was events such as this that the ancients considered to be sacred. I can completely understand why. I fully expected to find nature spirits and fairies all around, but what I found instead was a stillness that echoes in my mind even today and I am sure for years to come. It was such a peaceful moment without a sound to be heard. I feel truly blessed because instead of a bunch of individual spirits around me, I was surrounded by Great Spirit. For a moment I felt as though all else fell away, even my own identity, and I truly became one with Spirit. I think that I will continue to access the memory of this moment as a meditation for a very long time.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Power Animals

While outside chopping up kindling for my fireplace this morning, there was a massive sized flock of Canada Geese that flew over. They were quite loud and, of course, in perfect formation. The medicine of the Canada Goose has to do with commitment. They mate for life and if a partner in a couple dies, the remaining partner does not mate with another. Makes us think about the social structure we screw up when we are hunting them!

The flock made me contemplate the areas of commitment I have in my life. I am extremely committed to my family and to my role as a shaman. Sometimes the two clash a bit, but for the most part I am very fortunate that I have a lovely wife who is very supportive of what I do and the time it sometimes takes from the family. She knows that I have a purpose in the world and that I serve the community at large with the healing work I do. I am very grateful for that.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

October 9, 2007

The next Transformational Tuesday Drumming Circle will be on Tuesday, October 16th from 7:00 to 9:00 in the evening. This week we will be Journeying to our Power Animals. Newcomers are always welcome and we have plenty of rhythm instruments to go around. We always enjoy hearing the unique voice of a new drum, rattle, flute, or whatever. The cost is $12/person. You can email me if you need directions for how to get here at deerhorn@sasktel.net .

Also, I have an exciting new workshop coming up at the end of October!

Healing Sound
Join myself and Evan Janzen for this uplifting and powerful workshop that celebrates sound and its effect on our energy systems. You will experience Singing Bowls, Gongs, Drums, Rattles, Chanting, Whistles and more. If it makes a sound that can be used to heal the energy system, we will have it.

Sound moves through our energy system and moves blocked energies out, as well as brings fresh energy in. Essentially we are energy beings in human form, not humans with an energy system. So sound helps us to improve our connection to who we truly are in the universe. The Registration Deadline (with $50 deposit) is October 19th. The Healing Sound Workshop is on the evening of Friday, October 26th from 7:00 - 9:00 and on Saturday, October 27th from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
The total cost is $225 (+gst). This is a truly dynamic event, so I hope you all will consider it on your sacred path.

FOR THOSE WHO ARE NEW TO MY BLOG: I also have a website that you can check out at www.deerhornshamanic.com .

Musings for the day:
I spent most of my day raking up fallen leaves, loading them into my tractor-pulled wagon, and dumping them in the bush so that they are off our lawn. Sometimes I wish we could just leave them there because they are so beautiful with all the fall colors. However, they do create mold that my daughters and I have a sensitivity to, so off they go.
While raking, which I find to be a contemplative activity, I was thinking about the cycles of life. I heard somewhere that the green color of leaves is when they are actually well tanned from the sun and the autumn colors are their more natural colors. Then I thought that it would be really cool if, as we came to the end of our cycle of life, we as humans could also turn whatever color or flavor we wanted to. If my skin could do what the leaves can do, I would want to be purple or at the very least a deep shade of red. I really like how close the two colors are. Red and Purple are very close in the color wheel. And they are the two extremes in the chakras, the red being at the bottom and the purple being at the top. When we touch our toes our crown chakras can blend with our base chakras. That is the color I want, the perfect blend.
I love the fact that fall comes along. I see death and decay as sacred. Eventually we all become part of the earth once again in another way and end up feeding the grass that feeds the animals that we as humans have hunted and eaten through our lifetimes. So we are as symbiotic with those animals as we are with the trees, who feed us oxygen and who also get fed back every time we exhale. Is it any wonder we can connect so intimately with plants and animals?

First Entry

Hello everyone! This is my first entry into my blog site, so bear (pardon the pun) with me while I get used to this process.